John,

As tax filing season kicks off, the IRS is warning taxpayers that we should expect delays in receiving refunds. Meanwhile, wealthy tax dodgers are evading $163 billion in taxes owed each year.[1]

This is because, after decades of disinvestment by congressional Republicans, the IRS has fewer employees today than anytime since the 1970s.[2] In fact, between 2010 and 2018, the IRS lost nearly one-third of its enforcement employees, or 14,000 workers.[3]

President Biden has called on Congress to invest $80 billion over ten years to modernize the IRS and hire the necessary staff to effectively serve U.S. taxpayers and crack down on wealthy tax cheats. It would net $400 billion in new revenue, mostly from the rich and corporations, to create jobs and help families afford healthcare, childcare, education, housing and to combat climate change.[4]

Sign the petition and demand Congress give the IRS the resources it needs to serve the American people and stop tax dodging by greedy corporations and the richest 1%.

In 2019, the U.S. lost $600 billion in revenue to tax evasion and noncompliance―roughly 15% of taxes owed, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. And we will lose $7 trillion over the next 10 years. Most of these unpaid taxes owed are by the wealthy and corporations.[5]

This is partly due to plummeting IRS audit rates of the richest 1%. Audit rates on taxpayers with incomes over $1 million dropped 81% between 2011 and 2019.[6] And the audit rate of large corporations dropped by half. [7]

The IRS needs more money in its annual budget, being considered in Congress right now, to achieve better customer service for ordinary taxpayers, more on-time refunds, and less tax cheating by the rich and corporations.

Join Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund and our national allies in demanding Congress give the IRS the resources it needs to effectively serve U.S. taxpayers and crack down on wealthy tax cheats.

When we do, we’ll be able to invest in new jobs, combat the climate crisis, and help families afford healthcare, childcare, education, and housing.

Thank you,

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] “The Case for a Robust Attack on the Tax Gap,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, September 7, 2021

[2] “Filing Season Preview,” Internal Revenue Service, January 21, 2022 (unpublished data)

[3] “Unrigging the Economy Will Require Enforcing the Tax Laws,” Center for American Progress, March 12, 2020

[4] “The Substantial Revenue-Raising Potential of Tax Compliance Efforts,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 29, 2021

[5] “The American Families Plan Tax Compliance Agenda,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May, 2021

[6] "IRS Budget Cuts Let Wealthy Tax Cheats Get Away With It," Center for American Progress, Aug. 6, 2020

[7] “Unrigging the Economy Will Require Enforcing the Tax Laws,” Center for American Progress, March 12, 2020